Chapter 198: Reconsidering the Division of Power

After settling Wang Jia at Cao Yu's place, Li Dong finally let out a sigh of relief.

As Cao Yu was seeing Li Dong out, she quietly asked, "Dongzi, is this your sister-in-law?"

"No, just a friend."

Seeing Li Dong's response, Cao Yu didn't ask further.

Li Dong went downstairs and told Zhou Haidong and Cao Hongbing, "You two must be tired from the past few days. Go back and rest, take three days off and come back."

Zhou Haidong quickly said, "I'm fine, Mr. Li. Just let Xiao Cao rest for a few days."

Cao Hongbing immediately added, "I don't need time off either. What's this compared to when I was in the army…"

Before he could finish, Li Dong interrupted, "Enough with the army stories. Listening to you, it sounds like the army was worse than a coal mine."

Cao Hongbing gave a sheepish smile, not knowing how to respond.

Zhou Haidong chuckled and said to Li Dong, "Don't listen to Xiao Cao bragging. The hard days of his service are long gone. He's not suffering now."

Cao Hongbing protested, "Brother Zhou, what I said is all true!"

Seeing the two of them bickering, Li Dong laughed and said, "Alright, both of you rest. Has Zheng Long received his driver's license? If so, have him come over to drive for me for a few days."

Upon hearing that Li Dong wanted Zheng Long to return, both Cao Hongbing and Zhou Haidong stopped talking.

Zhou Haidong took a deep breath and responded, "Mr. Li, Zheng Long has indeed gotten his license, but since he just got it, it's too risky to have him drive for you."

Originally, Li Dong had sent Zheng Long to protect Qin Yuhan. Zhou Haidong thought that his position was secure, with no one threatening it.

However, when Qin Yuhan went to Beijing and no longer needed protection at school, Zheng Long returned.

Now, Zheng Long had come back with a driving license. Zhou Haidong realized this guy was persistent and wanted to compete with him again.

Even though Zhou Haidong was usually quiet and reserved, he was quite shrewd and hadn't given Zheng Long a chance before.

With Li Dong asking for Zheng Long to come back, Zhou Haidong felt uneasy.

Li Dong was someone who valued loyalty. Among the first four people who came in, Tan Yong went in, and now Zhou Haidong and Cao Hongbing primarily protected Li Dong, while Zheng Long had been idle.

If Zheng Long drove for Li Dong for a few days, Li Dong would likely not let him go afterward, increasing Zhou Haidong's biggest competitor.

Cao Hongbing was younger and less capable, so Zhou Haidong didn't mind him as much.

But Zheng Long was different. He had similar qualifications and abilities to Zhou Haidong.

If Zheng Long returned, who would be the boss between them?

Zhou Haidong's calculations were clear to Li Dong, but Li Dong said, "Let Zheng Long give it a try. I don't use the car much, so it shouldn't be a big deal."

Since Li Dong said so, Zhou Haidong couldn't oppose and had to agree.

…

The next day.

Early in the morning, Zheng Long arrived at the entrance of Wanyuan Community.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Zheng Long was in high spirits, believing he had made the right choice.

Cao Hongbing had said that learning to drive was useless. Now he should see whether it was useful or not.

If it weren't for getting the license, Zheng Long wouldn't have been able to replace Zhou Haidong. He didn't want to be overshadowed by Zhou Haidong forever.

Despite his thoughts, Zheng Long wasn't carried away by excitement. He spotted Li Dong leaving the community and immediately got out of the car to greet him.

…

Li Dong had Wang Jia get into the car and instructed Zheng Long, "Take Wang Jia to the Provincial Hospital, then bring her back. Drive carefully on the road."

Zheng Long immediately assured, "Mr. Li, don't worry. I drive very cautiously. Even my driving school instructor said I'm an experienced driver."

Li Dong chuckled. Experienced driver? Have you even had the license for three days?

But he knew Zheng Long was reasonably cautious, so he didn't discourage him. He then said to Wang Jia, "Fang Qingfei said she's waiting for you at the hospital. I have some other matters to attend to, so I won't accompany you."

Wang Jia smiled and said, "I understand. You're a busy person. Go ahead with your own affairs. You've already delayed several days for me. I could have managed on my own without the need for you to shuttle me."

Li Dong said no more, waved his hand, and let Zheng Long drive off.

…

After not returning to the company for two days, Li Dong found that the company ran just fine without him.

During his absence, Sun Tao had handled everything smoothly, even more efficiently than when Li Dong was around.

But the more efficient things were, the more Li Dong frowned.

Previously, he had considered finding a vice president to share the responsibilities but hadn't been able to follow through. Later, with Sun Tao returning, Li Dong had put the matter aside.

Now, it seemed that not appointing a vice president was truly unsettling.

Sun Tao was excellent, even outstanding, but the more capable someone was, the more necessary it was to have someone to keep them in check.

It wasn't just to protect Li Dong; it was also to protect Sun Tao.

Li Dong wanted to share the prosperity and hardships, as Sun Tao had helped build the brilliance of Faraway. Li Dong didn't want to be like the bird who escapes only to be hunted down.

Finding someone to share power was also meant to ensure Sun Tao's success.

Otherwise, if things continued like this, Li Dong feared making dangerous moves.

To be honest, he had very little sense of security. Since his rebirth, Li Dong had never fully trusted anyone.

Not just Sun Tao, even his parents and Qin Yuhan had things he kept from them.

Li Dong had a low sense of security and naturally couldn't trust Sun Tao with too much power, so he decided it was better to cut off Sun Tao's ambitions sooner rather than later. Otherwise, he might end up having to cut him off regretfully.

While contemplating this, Shen Qian stormed into the office.

Liu Qi followed behind, repeatedly advising her to wait until she had an appointment before entering.

Shen Qian ignored her and glared at Li Dong angrily, "Mr. Li, you're playing me!"

Li Dong frowned and said, "Who told you to come in?"

Seeing him angry, Shen Qian became a bit intimidated and stammered, "I knocked, but you didn't hear."

Li Dong could tell from her expression that she was making excuses. However, to give her a way out, Li Dong didn't pursue the matter and asked, "What's the matter?"

"About the Public Relations Department…"

Before she could finish, Li Dong interrupted, "The Public Relations Department is newly established and is very important. If you don't want to do it, then go back to the Market Department as a researcher. I'm not comfortable with leaving the Public Relations Department to you."

This statement blocked all of Shen Qian's anger and doubts. After a while, Shen Qian said, "But the Public Relations Department is so small, how can I carry out the work?"

Seeing her pitiful appearance, Li Dong struggled to suppress his smile and said, "That's your problem. If you can handle it well, it means you have the capability. If you can't, it means your skills aren't up to par. Don't talk about the vice president; you might not even keep your manager position and will have to continue as an ordinary employee."

After being lectured by Li Dong, Shen Qian looked a bit dejected.

But she soon perked up, straightened her chest, and said, "Just wait and see! I, Shen Qian, am not useless. I'll surprise you sooner or later. By then, not just the vice president, but even the general manager will be mine!"

Without waiting for Li Dong to respond, Shen Qian arrogantly turned and left the office.

Li Dong shook his head. Sometimes he really didn't understand Shen Qian.

Given her family background, she didn't need to be fixated on a vice president or general manager position. If she were really determined, she could make a fortune by trading permits or other means, which would be better than being a subordinate.

Since he didn't understand, he decided not to dwell on it. Li Dong didn't mind keeping her around, as Shen Qian had brought benefits to him, such as with the loan and land deals. She had made significant contributions, so he didn't mind supporting her.

After thinking about Shen Qian, Li Dong said to Liu Qi, "I asked you to contact headhunters before. Have you found any candidates for the vice president position?"

Liu Qi was startled and quickly responded, "Didn't you say it wasn't urgent last time?"

"There's a lot going on at the company now. Pingchuan is also opening many new branches. I'm worried Sun Tao might be overwhelmed."

"What about Shen Qian…"

Li Dong replied irritably, "Do you really think I would hand the vice president position to Shen Qian?"

Liu Qi gave an awkward laugh and nodded, "Alright, I'll contact more headhunters right away."

Li Dong agreed and added, "Get it

 done as soon as possible."

Liu Qi's expression became much more serious, and she hurriedly said, "I'll urge them to act quickly."

Li Dong said no more.

Seeing him looking at documents with his head down, Liu Qi quietly left the office.

As soon as she was out, Liu Qi took a deep breath.

Li Dong's instruction to act quickly made Liu Qi suspect he had some plan in mind.

But she couldn't say much about it. After all, Sun Tao did have too much power.